The Port House

The Port House has served Spanish tapas with port, wine and sherry on the Strand since 2012, a cellar-like, candlelit room only steps from the Covent Garden piazza. It grew out of a group of tapas restaurants that began in Dublin in 2006 in a cave-like space on South William Street, and after three successful Irish restaurants the owners decided London deserved a taste of what they were doing.

Wine sourcing has been central from the start. The restaurant buys directly from small producers across Spain and Portugal, cutting out the middleman to keep value for customers, and offers a broad selection of whites, reds and rosés to pair with the menu. True to its name, it is dedicated to the best of Porto and Jerez, from the smaller house Kopke and newer names such as Niepoort and Churchill's to the grand old houses of Graham's and Warre's, with staff ready to suggest a match for any tapas order.

Tapas, port and sherry on the Strand

Provenance matters in the kitchen too. The jamón ibérico, chorizo and lomo come from acorn-fed Iberian pigs grazed in open woodland in Extremadura, while black pudding and txistorra are handmade in northern Spain. Tapas arrive in waves in the Spanish way, alongside paellas, tortillas and Spanish cheeses, with many dishes marked gluten-free.

What to expect on a visit

Walk-ins are welcome, tables for one to eight can be booked online, and groups of nine or more are asked to send a booking enquiry. Group packages include a choice of two set menus with wine and cocktail packages, which suits birthdays, engagements and after-work gatherings. It opens from noon Monday to Saturday until late and on Sunday until 22:00, with the Sunday kitchen closing at 20:30. For Basque small plates nearby, see Pintxito in the Market building, or browse the other wine bars in Covent Garden.